An Overdue Post

It has been almost four months since my last post, absurd I know.  So much has happened since our anniversary trip to Austin that it is hard to know where to start.

Not long after my last post Laura’s parents and brother came to visit us and were able to stay for about ten days.  We had a great time with them here, Laura and I love getting to be tourist when people come to stay with us and we always have a great time with her family.  About four days into their visit I had to leave to attend two one week courses at the Army JAG school in Charlottesville, VA.  Laura and I were disappointed that I had to go, but it ended up working out well.  The courses were great (plus Charlottesville is not a bad place to spend two weeks ) and it was a huge blessing for Laura to have her family here with her for one of the weeks I was away.  For part of the second week I was away one of Laura’s close friends from Wake came and stayed with her.  Lauren Johnson is from Dallas and is serving as an RUF intern at Rice in Houston.  She came to visit during her transition from Dallas to Houston, the timing was great.

In August I went to a one week course at the Navy JAG School in Newport, RI. Laura was able to go with me for this course and we had a great time in Newport.  The cooler weather was a welcomed respite from the brutal San Antonio summer (105 in San Antonio and 72 in Newport).

Not long after we returned from Newport Laura started working at the base elementary school on Lackland AFB.  Her work there has been a transition, but she is now settled in and enjoying it.

Later in August the Navy ship my grandfather served on in Korea had an annual reunion in San Antonio. We were able to spend significant time with them on Saturday and Sunday before they headed east on Monday.  Getting to spend time with them here in San Antonio and having them stay with us was a huge blessing.

Our summer concluded with a a labor day weekend camping trip to canyon lake.  We rented a couple of kayaks from base and spent two nights camping on a bluff overlooking the lake.  One of our couple friends joined us for the second night.

I spent two September weeks back at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery attending a course at the Air Force JAG School.  I never enjoy being away from Laura, but the trip did allow me to see my family for two weekends and catch up with some of the guys I went to JAG School with last Spring.

Summer is now officially over and fall is in the air, we are loving this cooler weather!

A sunset sail in Newport

Newport's rocky coastline

View from our campsite at Canyon Lake

Anniversary in Austin

Tomorrow (16 June) is our two year anniversary, so this past weekend we took a little trip up the road to Austin to celebrate.  As it turned out, we were joined by thousands of bikers taking part in the Republic of Texas (ROT) bike rally… apparently the largest bike rally in Texas.  Laura and I do not exactly “blend in” with the hardcore bikers, but it was kinda cool to see all those bikes lined up along the street. After a Friday afternoon lunch on bike lined Sixth street, we headed over to the Capitol building for a tour.  It was our first visit to Austin and we both loved the city.  One of the many impressive things in Austin is the Capitol building, no state has a larger one (surprise, surprise), and we really enjoyed touring it.  For dinner Friday night we went to The Oasis, overlooking Lake Travis, I realize that this sounds very cheesy…but it really was nothing short of amazing.  Here is Laura by our table, not a bad spot to watch the sunset. 

Saturday morning started with a run at Zilker Park which was followed up by a dip into Barton Springs.  We stopped at a local coffee shop/bakery for lunch before checking out the shops on Congress Avenue and exploring UT’s campus.

For dinner Saturday night we went to the Shoreline Grill, mainly because of the view they offered of the bats flying out from under the Congress Avenue bridge.  Sounds a little strange I know, but that bridge has the largest urban bat colony in North America.  Around sunset every night around 1.2 million bats come out from under the bridge and fly off into the night.

The bridge and boats are filled with people there to see the bats.

After church on Sunday we enjoyed lunch on a balcony overlooking downtown and before leaving the city we drove to Mount Bonnell to get one more view of Austin.

Laura and I on Mount Bonnell

On a seperate note, on the way home from work last Wednesday I stopped to get some flowers for Laura.  Once in the store, I must have been feeling a little brave.I managed to make it home before Laura and get those fresh tie dye roses displayed in a vase before she arrived.  Thankfully, she was a good sport…but I do not think I will be investing in tie dye roses again anytime soon!

Saturday At SeaWorld

Shamu

Watching Shamu

Webb and I with our prizes… two made shots!

 

Getting wet.

Downtown with the Family

My mother, father, sister and brother-in-law got into town around 4:30 Thursday afternoon.  I had Friday off so we spent Thursday evening/night at our house and got up Friday morning and headed downtown.  We walked around the River Walk, went and saw the IMAX movie on the Alamo (which was very good), toured the Alamo, hit every visitor center downtown has to offer and had lunch on the River Walk. 

Here we are in front of the Alamo. 

Lunch on the River Walk.

On the River Walk.

We got a new grill…

and that ain’t it.  Isn’t that thing sweet though?! 

My family (parents, sister and brother-in-law) will be arriving tomorrow for a visit.  Laura and I are both excited about having them here!  It has also been a great motivation to get everything in and around the house set up.

We hope to do a good bit of San Antonio touristy stuff while they are here, so I will try to post as much about that as possible.

Settling in San Antonio II

Along with living in a house with a yard comes yard work.  So far, we have enjoyed it… but we still have  a long way to go and much more heat to endure. 

Laura picked out some flowers and we recently planted them in various spots around the yard.  Here is an example of the small transformation that took place in front of the house.

The house when we first moved in.  It is hard to see, but the door looks pretty pathetic.  The finish was chipping off and there were large spots where it was completely stripped.  

This second pic is of  the house now.  Hopefully these flowers will survive and grow.  Laura re-finished the door and it now looks much better. 

Of course, the cactus in the backyard is my favorite! 

So, we are back in San Antonio.  It has been quite a journey and this is the first time since we left North Carolina last September that we have been somewhere with the intentions of staying for longer than two months.  Being (temporarily) settled is nice!  

My family will be coming to visit for the Memorial Day weekend and we are looking forward to doing some touristy stuff with them.  I will try to do a better job of posting our activities in San Antonio.

Back in Montgomery

After two and a half months in San Antonio… here we are again, back at Maxwell AFB, this time for Judge Advocate Staff Officer Course (JASOC).  Today began the second week of this nine week school. I have been reunited with about 17 JAGs that were in my Officer Training School class and have met many new JAG Officers; in all, there are 75 of us in this JASOC class.  So far, I am finding JASOC to be much more enjoyable than both law school and Officer Training. 

Laura left this morning for Raleigh, NC where she will be staying with her family. She will also be visiting some friends in the area.  She spent the first week with me here on base in our hotel room and she will be back for a little more time with me here in a few weeks. 

I am beginning to understand why they say that being a military spouse is the toughest job in the military.  She was willing to give up her teaching job and follow me around the country for a year, not knowing where we would be living. I am really looking forward to her being able to teach or do something else that she enjoys in San Antonio.  

The adventure of moving to a new city has been an enjoyable one, and San Antonio has been great for us.  Spending time apart, starting a new job, adjusting to life in the military, etc.; the past few months have provided us with many great challenges and opportunities… it has not always been easy, but I am confident that both of us have grown through it and our marriage has been strengthened.  All of the circumstances we have encountered truly have been for our good.

Settling in San Antonio I

It was just over two months ago, on 1 Dec 09, when Laura and I first arrived here in San Antonio.   We did hit up the Alamo and Riverwalk on the first day, an area that we have been back to on more than one occasion.  We spent our first TX days in Temporary Housing on base at Lackland AFB.  We were fortunated to find a house relatively quickly, and ended up getting our first choice. After a trip to Raleigh, NC, for Christmas, we began the work of settling in. This is the first time that we have lived in a house, and we are loving it! We have found a church that seems to be a great fit for us, Redeemer Pres., and has provided us with good friends and fellowship.

This past weekend was my favorite to date. On Friday night we attended a joint birthday party for two guys from church, as you can probably tell from the pic below, it was a themed party… I will let you guess the theme.

 

On Saturday night, Laura and I went to the Spurs/Hornets game after a dinner on the Riverwalk.  On Sunday we hosted  a small Super Bowl party, the first real get together at our new residence. 

We are truly blessed. 

In just over a week we will be leaving for Montgomery, AL.  I will be back at Maxwell AFB for nine weeks of JAG School.  This time, Laura will be with me for most of it!

The Super Bowl

Two reasons that I will be pulling for the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon…

1) Pat Tillman 

2) Kurt Warner

Life in San Antonio

I have gone too long withoug posting… my apologies! Laura and I have been living in San Antonio for almost two months. We are enjoying being here and have truly been blessed. I could not begin to write about all we have done since my last post, so I thought I would put some photos up. The pic above is of Laura and I on our first evening back together after spending five weeks apart.  Below are a few pics from our time here in San Antonio. 

At the Spurs/Magic.

Lunch on the River Walk, first day in San Antonio